Two new Backyard Habitat-related resources!

ATTRACTING NATIVE POLLINATORS
The Xerces Society will turn 40 this year! We'll be celebrating our official birthday later in the year, but we can't think of a much better way to start such a significant year than with the release of an important new book, Attracting Native Pollinators: Protecting North America's Bees and Butterflies.

The work of bees and other pollinators is something that touches us all through the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the landscapes we enjoy. Attracting Native Pollinators offers a window onto the fascinating lives of these insects and provides detailed information about how you can care for these vital animals wherever you live. Whether you are an urban gardener, a suburban park manager, a working farmer, or caring for a nature reserve Attracting Native Pollinators has something for you.

The book has already garnered high praise:

"Attracting Native Pollinators belongs on the bookshelf of everyone who values the future of the natural world."
- Douglas W. Tallamy, researcher and author
of Bringing Nature Home

"Precise, elegant and thoughtful, the recommendations offered by the Xerces Society will become essential to advancing a healthy and diverse food production system."
- Gary Nabhan, author of The Forgotten
Pollinators and Renewing America's Food
Traditions

More than 380 pages long, Attracting Native Pollinators is illustrated throughout with hundreds of color photographs and dozens of custom-drawn illustrations. It is published by Storey Publishing of North Adams, Mass. and coauthored by four Xerces staff (Eric Mader, Matthew Shepherd, Mace Vaughan, and Scott Hoffman Black) with Gretchen LeBuhn, a botanist at San Francisco State University and director of The Great Sunflower Project.

Pre-order your book from our website by January 31st to get a discount - www.xerces.org.

THE CONSCIENTIOUS GARDENER: CULTIVATING A GARDEN ETHIC by Sarah Reichard

Join UW Botanic Gardens and the Northwest Horticultural Society for a celebration of Sarah Reichard’s new book, The Conscientious Gardener: Cultivating a Garden Ethic. Sarah will share the latest best practices for gardening with an environmental ethic, including pest control, water conservation, mulching, and invasive species.

Thursday, February 17, 2011
6:45 pm Reception and Book-Signing; 7:30 pm Lecture
NHS Hall, Center for Urban Horticulture, Seattle
Tickets are $15
For more information, visit http://www.northwesthort.org/special.html

Sarah Reichard is the founder and director of the Washington Rare Plant Care and Conservation and faculty at the University of Washington.

*Proceeds and book sales from the event will benefit Rare Care.